CENTER LISLE, NY – It was a dominant night for the Smith name as Thunder Mountain Speedway roared back to life for its 2025 season opener on Saturday night.

Rusty Smith headlined the evening by capturing the 35-lap Modified feature in thrilling fashion. Darren Smith followed suit, taking the checkers in the DIRTcar 358 Modified main event. TJ Smith completed the family sweep, winning the opening round of the Hustle the High Banks Series for the 600 Modifieds.

Additional feature winners included Jordan Millard (DIRTcar Sportsman), Jerry Lobdell Jr. (Factory Stocks), and Zach Bobbett (600 Sprint).

Modified Feature (35 Laps): Rusty Smith Takes Command

Rusty Smith took the early lead with Tommy Collins close behind. Collins briefly took the top spot on lap 7 using the high side of the speedway, but Smith retook the lead in traffic on lap 21 and never looked back. Despite restarts and pressure from Byron Worthing, Smith held strong to claim the opening night win.

Brett Tonkin made a late charge to finish second, edging Darren Smith, who came home third. Worthing and Collins rounded out the top five.

DIRTcar 358 Modifieds (25 Laps): Darren Smith Goes Flag-to-Flag

Darren Smith went green to checkered in the 25-lap DIRTcar 358 Modified feature. Will Shields challenged several times but couldn’t complete the pass. Gordon Smith finished third, followed by Shayne Spoonhower and Doug Smith Jr.

DIRTcar Sportsman: Millard Returns to Victory Lane

Jordan Millard returned to his winning ways, taking control early and cruising to victory in the 25-lap Sportsman feature. Defending track champion Matt Brewer finished second. Damon Decker, Rich Talada, and Luke Powell completed the top five.

600 Modifieds – Hustle the High Banks Series: TJ Smith Leads Every Lap

The first round of the 2025 Hustle the High Banks Series saw TJ Smith go wire-to-wire in the 20-lap 600 Modified feature. He fended off multiple challengers to seal the win. Doug Windhausen finished second, with James Randall, Jake Waibel, and Tom Donahue rounding out the top five.

Factory Stocks: Lobdell Inherits Win After DQ

Doug Stack Jr. initially appeared to take the Factory Stock victory, but a disqualification in post-race tech inspection handed the win to Jerry Lobdell Jr. Brian Rhodes claimed second, followed by Luke Mills, Josh Towner, and Thomas Hammond.

600 Sprint Feature: Bobbett in a League of His Own

Zach Bobbett dominated the 20-lap 600 Sprint main event, leading from lap one and pulling away to win by more than a straightaway. Tommy Paige finished second, with Ivan Forney, Wayne Stell Jr., and Mary Early completing the top five.

Thunder Mountain Speedway will be back in action next Saturday night with a full slate of racing for the Modifieds, DIRTcar Sportsman, 600 Modifieds, 600 Sprints, Factory Stocks with the first appearance in 2025 by the IMCA Modifieds as well as the Classic on Dirt. Race time is scheduled for 6pm.

RACE RESULTS 5/10/25

OPEN MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (35-LAPS): 1 Rusty Smith 2 Brett Tonkin 3 Darren Smith 4 Byron Worthing 5 Tommy Collins 6 Brandon Loucks 7 Matt Smith 8 Ajay Potrzerbowski 9 Dan Morgiewicz 10 Cody Higbie 11 Will Shields 12 Eric Leet 13 Brian Malcolm 14 Mike Austin 15 Matt Latwinski 16 Jeff Sheely 17 Tom Eiklor 18 PJ Goodwin 19 Geoff Quakenbush 20 Doug Polhamus 21 Danny Tyler 22 Brandon Walters 23 Jimmy Zacharias 24 Alan Barker 25 Nick Nye DNS Dominic Roselli, Arthur Bray

DIRTCAR 358 MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (25-LAPS): 1 Darren Smith 2 Will Shields 3 Gordon Smith 4 Shayne Spoonhower 5 Doug Smith Jr. 6 Jamie Kamrowski 7 Joey Bonetti 8 Cameron Black 9 Josh Landers DNS Erik Holmgren

DIRTCAR SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (25-LAPS): 1 Jordan Millard 2 Matt Brewer 3 Damon Decker 4 Rich Talada 5 Luke Powell 6 Travis Green 7 Cody Jackson 8 Eric Winsor 9 Will Eastman 10 Gary Smith 11 Avery Decker 12 TJ Frost 13 Chance Spoonhower Jr. 14 Jake Waibel 15 Todd Hayward 16 Sullivan Dickey 17 Johnathon Fowlston 18 Devon Green 19 Trevor Dudley 20 Alan Komar 21 Dale Folejewski 22 Scot Torbitt 23 Randy Brokaw 24 Chuck Lowe 25 James VanAbs 26 Wyatt Frink 27 Ray Taylor 28 Jared LaBagh 29 Jason Beebe DNS Leif Holmgren DQ Thor Holmgren

HUSTLE THE HIGHWAY SERIES 600 MODIFIEDS (20-LAPS): 1 TJ Smith 2 Doug Windhausen 3 Jame Randall 4 Jake Waibel 5 Tom Donahue 6 Anthony Desimone 7 Tommy Paige 8 Tyler Talada 9 Bumps Scutt 10 Owen Mossow 11 Harold Oliver 12 Charles Lohmeyer 13 Dustin Jordan 14 Ajay Tuttle 15 Sam Hubbard 16 Cameron Searls 17 John Hoover 18 Leon Poirier 19 Chelsie Beebe 20 Logan Ladue 21 Kyle Percy 22 James Deisz 23 Nick Johnson 24 Marty Eaves 25 Liam Zacharias 26 Adam Doll 27 Ali Scutt 28 Brenden Johnson 29 Justin Ladue DNS Casey Doll

FACTORY STOCK FEATURE FINISH (20-LAPS) 1 Jerry Lobdell Jr. 2 Brian Rhodes 3 Luke MIlls 4 Josh Towner 5 Thomas Hammond 6 Doug Stack Sr. 7 Tommy Groover 8 Harry Marvin 9 Andy Bolles 10 Shane Moshier 11 Bryant Beach 12 Austin Baldwin 13 Rich Sharpsteen 14 Harry Lobdell Jr. 15 Justin Lovejoy 16 Randy Mathews 17 Jermie Hale Jr. 18 Kyle Lingerfelt DNS Jason Rhodes DQ Doug Stack Jr.

600 SPRINT FEATURE (20-LAPS): 1 Zach Bobbett 2 Tommy Paige 3 Ivan Forney 4 Wayne Stell Jr. 5 Mary Earley 6 Cliff Pierce 7 Billy Applebee 8 David Johnson 9 Kevin DeLong 10 Charles Bruce DNS Nate Combs, Kyle Pierce